A Tribute To Arsene Wenger And His Unique Management Philosophy

Our philosophy of football is unique. We don’t undertake crazy spending, but rather undertake it in a conservative manner. Our debt is under control, and from a business perspective we are heading in a positive direction. BUT….today if I get into an argument with my friend over lets say Arsenal VS Manchester United, all I am going to hear, and if I may add very loudly, “What happened last time we met ?“, and “Wheres your trophy ?”

But on a rational, or rather Club-wise level, nobody will say anything. Now it’s not because they can, because quite frankly they can’t. I mean look at our situation [touch wood] and look at theirs. But more importantly, it’s because it’s ignored. And we are not just talking about a little ignorance. I mean everybody ignores it, even the British media. You shall find very rare articles, on how efficient Arsenal FC is run on the internet. And this excludes posts from bloggers!

So in a nutshell what Arsene Wenger is doing is nothing great in the eyes of every other club, but only great in the eyes of us Gooners.

Personally, I love the philosophy the man has instilled in the club as I am a supporter of the club and I love the club as well as the football it plays. Wenger’s philosophy of keeping the club stable, and financially sufficient, is actually a lone beacon standing out of a dark mountain, but people picture it as the sun at 12 noon or the stars at daytime. We know it’s not easy to manage a club using this philosophy. Sir Alex, Mourinho etc…No! None have done this. Why? Because to do this you have to devote a lot of discipline, time and ‘life’ to your club. And AW has done it. But is it appreciated? [ SAF has done it by their debt speaks for itself ]

Yes maybe by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) have given him an award regarding this issue, but in my eyes that is too less for a man who has done so much for one club.

What Wenger is doing is never appreciated. He is doing something different and something which is right. Now this is a generalised view because it does not make sense for a club to win everything, and have the largest debt in the world!

It’s sad to see the world greatest league degrading to a level in which money matters the most. If we now start counting the clubs which have such “own” power, we have already got 3 top teams. Chelsea, City, and Liverpool. Now add to that list Manchester United because of those Qatar takeover reports….Whereas a team like Arsenal , who are actually doing the right thing by managing its finances, and maintain its level of respect is ignored and criticised.

I know for a fact most fans of other clubs critiqued the ‘Manager of the Decade’ award going to Wenger. It’s obvious. Go to a Chelsea or United Blog and I’ll bet you’ll find some bloke saying it was their manager/former manager who should have won. Why? Because of trophies. Wenger takes all the ***t from us fans but yet he sticks to what he feels is right for the club at the Club-level…

Now I cannot say that I do not want a trophy. But if that means that my club will go into a huge debt, sorry, **** off! It’s not rocket science to see this and still nobody gives a damn.

We live in an environment in which management matters alot. When Arsene Wenger manages Arsenal it’s like we feel that closure and warmth that the club is in good hands. He has kept Arsenal at that level which is expected of them. Qualifications for the Champions League, Semi-Finals. Giving youth a chance. Yes, I know we have not won a trophy, but the manner in which the man has managed the club in some circumstances is sensational. Want an example of bad management in those similar circumstances : Liverpool!

AW is a man who has devoted his life to a club which we love. He has brought up players, who we thought were useless, and turned them into world-class players. Alex Song for example. He has instilled his faith into players and given them a level of responsibility which they never thought of getting. To play for Arsenal FC. Luke for example. And lastly, he has managed Arsenal as a whole, showing people what a manager stands for. That it is not the football part which is the managers only responsibility.

From Armoury Square, a toast to you Sir. May you manage the club as a “Ghost” also. For you complete us, for you make us, ARSENAL FC.

15 Comments

samik

February 14, 2011 at 9:53 am

Great article and couldn’t agree more. We are 4th in the UEFA
club rankings which is surely as high as we have ever been. It
does feel like if arsenal won the quadruple without losing a
game then many fans would complain that they they should
have not conceded a goal and wenger should be sacked! I
suppose these fans are newer and have not gone through
decades without anything?

I would add though that united are also a model club and run
extremely well. Their debt has nothing to do with SAF
spending. It’s a LBO (leverage buyout). The glaziers borrowed
lots of money to buy united. Once they owned it, they
transferred the debt on to united’s books, so in effect united
borrowed lots of money to make glaziers their owners. That is
the debt. This was done with the help of arsenal supporters
who had bought lots of united shares when there was a
bidding war over united, and they wonderfully sold their
significant holdings to Glazier, making a big profit and
leaving united with a massive debt. Now that’s a good
supporter doing his bit. Though this was just as much about
a horse which cost the same as united but that’s another
story 🙂

Excellent article with spot on analysis. I listen to the critics on phone in programs who question what Arsenal have won since 2005 but no one mentions AW ability to sustain a team in the top 4 playing proper football, all of this whilst building a new stadium. I suspect that if you looked at all the clubs who built new stadiums you will find the overwhelming majority – if not all – got relegated. Listen to the pleas for assistance from the Spurs board to do what we did and you appreciate what AW and the Arsenal board have achieved!

Time will vindicate Wenger, and show everybody what a truly great manager he was. Why some people can’t see this already is mainly due to the way the British media portrays things, I guess. For me, he is one of the very best…

Great article but I would include SAF into the same bracket. The only reason ManUtd are in such a s****y financially state is because of the funding of the take over. If you only look at football generated income and related expenditures, they are also very properly run club.

i’m not an arsenal fan and i completely disagree with the article , IMO the main point that arsenal fans forgot and leads them to appreciate wenger for qulifying to CL or being in epl Top 4 consecutevily or using your players or so … is that arsenal has always been a BIG CLUB since its beginning .things i noticed before are very good for a club but the most important thing that keeps a club being great is to win trophies . something that doesn’t seem to be happened till arsene wenger decides to change his policies .

Wenger genius will leave a legacy at our club. The great man has laid foundations that will last My lifetime and hopefully beyond.

It may very well be that the full benefits of Wenger’s vision will be enjoyed by his predecessor but I hope this team bears the fruit and gives him something back for the painstaking amount of hard work he has done, we certainly have a great chance of silverware this season.

As a lifelong Arsenal fan, I am and will be forever grateful to Arsene Wenger, a true genius.

Its about time , i thought i was alone in thinking wenger , deserved 2 be honored 4 wat he’s archived with arsenal. Wenger’s philosophy on de running of de club n his visionary application of de way arsenal play, week in n out, is de epitomy of de beautiful game. We’re among de top clubs in de world, we can boast of a healthy financial statement, a super stadium, a working youth system etc. I dread 2 think wat AFC would be lik in his absence, though, at present our trophy cabinet ain’t as rich as 1 would expect, but, de future holds much promise. so, salutations AW, 4 making us, much respect!!! PS nice article.

I do not know if it’s just me or if everybody else encountering problems
with your website. It looks like some of the text within your posts are running off the screen.
Can someone else please provide feedback and let me know
if this is happening to them too? This could be a issue
with my browser because I’ve had this happen previously.
Thanks

About Football-Talk

Football-Talk is an independent website made up of a team of football-loving contributors that provide news and views on Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Man Utd, Man City and Tottenham.

We cover a wide range of topics including match previews, team news, video goals, player ratings, transfer news, general news, blogs and features. We hope you enjoy what we have to offer. You can find out more about us here and if you have any questions feel free to contact us .